KARACHI: Amid a week-long teachers’ boycott of evening classes, the University of Karachi is heading towards a complete closure as the non-teaching staff on the campus are set to go on a pen-down strike for an indefinite period from Monday (today) till the acceptance of their demands by the varsity administration.

Academic activities on the campus have partially been suspended since April 22 due to the teachers’ boycott of KU evening classes. Their demands include payment of leave encashment, reimbursement of medical bills and remuneration of evening classes pending for more than a year.

A couple of days ago, the Employees’ Welfare Association of the KU (EWAKU) and all representative groups held their general body meeting at the Chinese Teachers Memorial Auditorium and announced that they would go on a pen-down strike from Monday.

Speaking to Dawn, senior KU teachers said that the non-teaching staff’s boycott would likely lead to a complete suspension of academic and administrative activities on Monday.

Employees’ body says protest to continue indefinitely; teachers already boycotting evening classes

Discontentment on the campus, they said, ran high given the administration’s repeated failure to address employees’ grievances.

They also believed that the strike of non-teaching staff members would build up pressure on the Karachi University Teachers’ Society (Kuts) to announce a complete boycott of academic activities.

“This decision would be taken up by teachers in the upcoming general body to be held this week after the elections on the two seats (each) of the KU senate and syndicate,” said Kuts president Prof Shah Aliul Qadr.

Meanwhile, the general body meeting of the non-teaching employees was chaired by Irfan Khan heading the association.

The employees’ demands included payment of leave encashment and salaries of staff members associated with the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology (CEMB), release of funds for pending arrears and bills for academic and medical purposes and approval of promotion of over 600 staff members pending for four years.

The employees unanimously decided to stop performing their academic, administrative and examination duties till acceptance of their demands.

“Our meetings with the university administration have remained inconclusive so far. The administration isn’t even ready to pay for the dues for which they have received funds from the Higher Education Commission,” Association representative Mohammad Shahid said while briefing the participants about the negotiations held with the university administration.

Shakeel Gabol of an employees’ group blamed the administration for what he described as the “worst ever financial crisis” of the institution, urging the attendees to remain united.

Meanwhile, staff members of the CEMB continued their strike over non-payment of their salaries and pension for three months.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2024